Fantasy Date With Twins Ends Badly For 84 Year Old Man

For one unfortunate Manhattan man, his date with twins didn’t end with the fun he was expecting. Rather, when they returned to his place for drinks, the twins tied him up and went on a spending spree with his cards and cash.

by Sir John Hawkins

John Hawkins's book 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know is filled with lessons that newly minted adults need in order to get the most out of life. Gleaned from a lifetime of trial, error, and writing it down, Hawkins provides advice everyone can benefit from in short, digestible chapters.

This year, Paul Aronson, an 84-year-old from Manhattan, contacted a 17-year-old girl, Shaina Foster, through the site and took her out to dinner. On a second date, Ms. Foster brought along her twin sister, Shalaine.

For a few hours on Oct. 1, the evening looked as if it might turn into an old man’s fantasy. The three dined at an expensive restaurant in Midtown. Then Mr. Aronson invited the teenagers to have a drink with him at the four-story brick townhouse he owns on East 38th Street.

He bought a bottle of raspberry-flavored rum from a liquor store on the way, a defense lawyer said. But instead of receiving caresses or whispered flirtations, Mr. Aronson ended up tied to a coffee table for 20 hours.

Prosecutors say the two girls bound him with zip ties, took $470 in cash from his wallet and went on a spending spree with his credit cards, buying makeup and clothes, while he lay helpless on his living room floor.

On Wednesday, the Foster sisters, looking more like high school students than hardened criminals, pleaded not guilty in State Supreme Court in Manhattan to charges of kidnapping, burglary, larceny and related crimes. Justice Michael J. Obus ordered them returned to jail without bail. Both face a minimum of 15 years in prison if convicted of the top charge.

Meet ups from online websites are to be approached with severe caution, as this man learned. I’m glad he’s okay, and was eventually found, even if it did take 20 hours.